The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are set to take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 61 of the IPL 2025 season at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on May 19. Both sides find themselves in a desperate race to stay alive in the playoff hunt. LSG currently sit seventh on the points table, having won five out of eleven games.
In their last outing, they were handed a 37-run defeat by Punjab Kings, despite a valiant 74-run effort from Ayush Badoni. SRH, meanwhile, are one spot below them at eighth, with just three wins in eleven matches. They too fell short in their last game, losing to Gujarat Titans by 38 runs, though Abhishek Sharma stood out with a fighting 74.
This will be the first match at the Ekana Stadium in nearly a month. Temperatures are expected to soar around 40°C, adding another layer of challenge for the players. Historically, the ground has not been six-hitter-friendly due to its size, and high totals have been rare — just one 200-plus score has been recorded in ten innings this season.
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LSG leads the head-to-head 4-1 and won the reverse fixture earlier this season thanks to a match-winning spell from Shardul Thakur.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
LSG have made a squad change, with William O’Rourke replacing the injured Mayank Yadav. However, with overseas slots filled by Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, and David Miller, it’s uncertain whether O’Rourke will get a game. Shamar Joseph is also unavailable for the rest of the season.
One of the bright spots in an otherwise quiet campaign for LSG has been the emergence of Digvesh Rathi. The young bowler has shown impressive versatility, operating effectively across all phases and offering valuable tactical options to his captain.
Probable XII: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Akash Singh/Ravi Bishnoi, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep/Shardul Thakur, Prince Yadav
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Daniel Vettori confirmed that Travis Head is recovering from Covid and will return to India on the morning of the match. His availability remains uncertain. Wiaan Mulder, too, is unavailable. In SRH’s last outing before the break, Pat Cummins made an early impact, taking 3/19 with the new ball and removing Karun Nair off the first delivery — a tactic SRH might stick with.
Probable XII: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Travis Head/Kamindu Mendis, Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Sachin Baby, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins(c), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Eshan Malinga
Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:
Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Ayush badoni, Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head, Nitish Kumar, Abhishek sharma (vc), Aiden Markaram (c), Digvesh Singh, Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga
Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:
Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran (vc), Travis Head, David Miller, Mitchell Marsh, Abhishek Sharma (c), Mohammed Shami, Adam Zampa, M. Siddarth
